The extraordinary piece of Victorian furniture pictured above will be on show at the Mark O'Dwyer Antiques stand at the Dublin Antiques Fair this weekend at the RDS. It is an American vanity dressing table, with enough hidden drawers and pockets to store all the cosmetics and jewellery a lady could want. It dates from the 1840s and carries a price tag of £25,000.

About 30 exhibitors will be selling items at the fair, including one or two English dealers who are coming to Dublin for the first time. Interestingly, Louis O'Sullivan, who organises the RDS fair, and the annual Antiques Dealers Fair, is arranging for Irish dealers to show items in Britain next year. He has booked space at the Birmingham Antiques Fair in Autumn 2000 for an Irish pavilion and he is currently organising an all-in package for dealers.